Some say hip-hop is an overstuffed musical genre. That’s both a gift and a curse because it means there’s a variety of ways to express yourself as a hip-hop artist. And that’s what rapper pineappleCITI loves about music—self expression.
Some conspiracy theories are real.
The G Funk era of hip-hop was ushered in by three hip-hop giants, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G. The genre represented everything west coast hip hop was and is, but focused more on having fun than gangbanging.
Growing up, Deva Mahal’s parents made sure that their house was filled with music. “There were no places that were off limits and there were no genres where we were not allowed to go,” she says. So it’s no wonder that now, as an artist, Deva’s music is a reflection of her parents’ early influence.
You ever put a frozen waffle in the toaster but not quite long enough and you bite into it and the inside is still frozen? But you don’t want to put it back in the toaster, so you eat that sad-ass, half-froze waffle while pretending it ain’t a sad-ass, half-froze waffle?
When black people who are musically inclined choose to pursue a career as an artist, they are proclaiming that they not only believe in their talent but also don’t subscribe to the conventional ways of making an American dream a reality. These people are dreamers with thick skin. Rejection is palpable when you choose…
As further proof that the gentrifying instinct of caucasity knows no bounds, a new theater presentation featuring “slave songs” sung by an all-white cast, backed by an all-white band and led by a white director has quickly become the biggest hit at the largest jazz festival in the world.
Did you know that R&B was renamed as “rhythm & blues” from “race music” by Billboard magazine in 1949? The name change reflected upwardly mobile Negroes working diligently to change their social and economic statuses. But, of course, with growth and downright swag comes theft. R&B caught the ears of white audiences,…
What is black music? For many, it’s soul, funk, R&B, hip-hop and essentially all genres of music that reflect roots in blackness. But the industry doesn’t hear us. Music is very much a culture of “We make it, they take it.” We’ve seen it throughout history in the theft of everything we exclusively create within music,…
“When the world tells us that the very existence of us, or our skin color, could get us kicked out of Starbucks. When the world tells us that because of your skin color, the police can mistake your cellphone for a gun and you’re murdered, it’s important that I tell my story and I tell stories about us in the future…
I can be prone to hyperbole. I can see proof of it in my daughter, who has adopted my penchant for saying, “This is my favorite song ever” for nearly every song she hears that she likes. We don’t do things small in the My-Last-Name-Isn’t-Really-Jackson household.
Since Donald Glover/Childish Gambino released the awe-inspiring video for his song “This Is America,” the internet has been filled with people explaining the symbolism of the imagery, subtext and subtle references contained in the music video.
Rapper J. Cole’s new album, KOD, has reignited a recurring discussion about the appreciation of “real” hip-hop between his fans and the people who find him interminably boring.
After releasing two songs on Thursday, rapper Nicki Minaj reignited her feud with the current princess of rap, Cardi B, because—if we’re being honest—we kinda forgot about the black female Max Headroom of hip-hop once we met Cardi.
In a since-deleted post on Instagram, Azealia Banks, the poster child for self-destruction, launched another attack on hip-hop’s newest female superstar, Cardi B.
I like Cardi B a lot. Who doesn’t? It’s almost impossible not to enjoy her brand of in-your-face in-your-faceism. She keeps it real, and that authenticity has endeared her to folks near and far. When “Bodak Yellow” dropped and broke records and wormholed its way into your subconscious—I actually can’t just say “moves”…
Updated, June 18, 2018 8:30 a.m.: The Root was a media sponsor of this event.
When someone asks you to attend a concert featuring Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Fantasia, Smokey Robinson and more, what do you do? You graciously accept the invite! And that is the story of how The Root became a media sponsor for the 13th annual Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival.
To answer the proverbial question “WTF is in Wyoming?” apparently, Kanye West is. And because he appears to be at work on a new album there (in Jackson Hole, to be precise), hip-hop fans are frantically checking for their favorite rapper’s locations, seeing if the “Equality State” turns up.
Before we begin any discussion of Bruno Mars and cultural appropriation, we must lay down a few ground rules:
